Google Takes a Wiki Way to Enhance Web Experience

Leave it to Google to morph even more useful things into the Internet experience.

And of course they're doing it in their usual understated way. Just go to Google's home page and you'll see a one-sentence promo under the search box about the search titan's newest feature: the Sidewiki.

Basically it's a little toolbar app that Google users contribute to Web pages.

As explained by Google, it's a "browser sidebar" that lets surfers add insight and info as well as get more knowledge. that enables you to contribute and read helpful information alongside any Web page.

You just need to download the latest Google Toolbar and enable the Sidewiki button in the Toolbar Options menu.

Pretty darn neat, I think. And early users apparently think so, too. Launched mid-day today, there are already some impressive user testimonials:

"Google Sidewiki is a lovely example of the power of DESIGN + TECHNOLOGY + BUSINESS being harnessed all together to find new possibilities and create useful solutions for customers," writes John Maeda, president of Rhode Island School of Design.

Dr. Dean Ornish, president of Preventive Medicine Research Institute, writes that it provides a "new platform" for people to share medical information.

And once you've tried it and maybe hit a glitch, Google's right there to help, as it already has a handy help page set up. There's also a place to offer up your own feedback and suggestion, which is typical of Google as well.

Photo courtesy of Google